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Surrounded by members of her NDP caucus, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announces that the Government of Canada, with support from the Government of Alberta, has purchased the Trans Mountain Pipeline and associated assets, during a press conference outside the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton Tuesday May 29, 2018.Photo by David_Bloom David Bloom/ David Bloom/Postmedia

The Trans Mountain expansion project is more certain than ever, Premier Rachel Notley said Tuesday as she lauded the federal government’s announcement it will buy the existing pipeline and all of Kinder Morgan’s core Canadian assets for $4.5 billion.

“We said we would get the pipeline built and we are getting it built,” she said, her words punctuated by cheers from ministers and staffers flanking her at a morning news conference overlooking the Alberta legislature.

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Alberta is willing to invest up to $2 billion to cover costs from “unforeseen circumstances,” payable only once oil begins to flow through the expansion. The province would receive an equity stake in return for any investment it makes.

Notley said she was only prepared to back the federal government plan if it met three conditions: immediate resumption of construction, concrete guarantees of project completion and Albertans getting value for money for their investment.

“That has all been accomplished,” Notley said. “There is work yet to be done, but this is a major step forward for each and every one of us.”

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He’s still worried about a catastrophic spill and said B.C. plans to continue with its court reference case about who has ultimate jurisdiction over what flows through pipelines.

The reference case has never been about stopping Trans Mountain, Horgan said Tuesday, despite the “aggressive pushback” from Alberta. He insisted repeatedly his government has simply been trying to find the best option for British Columbians.

“This isn’t a personal issue, we’ve not been provocative,” he said.

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Notley had a different take, saying Horgan’s government has been deliberately harassing the project.

Now that the feds will own it, she said, those efforts will have less effect from both a legal and investor confidence perspective.

Speaking in Edmonton, Kenney blasted the federal plan as “a taxpayer bailout,” and said it was regrettable the situation had come to that.

Far from providing certainty the expansion will be completed, Kenney said it only “keeps the project on life support.”

Horgan saw one silver lining to the federal government’s plan — he can now pick up the phone and call the owner of the pipeline for “more candid discussions” than he was able to have with Kinder Morgan.

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“The federal government now is completely accountable and I think at the end of the day that’s probably a good thing,” he said.

Horgan encouraged British Columbians opposed to the pipeline to express their disappointment, but to do so within the rule of law.

“I’m hopeful peaceful protests will be the order of the day,” he said.

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Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in Ottawa on Tuesday that in return for the Trudeau government’s commitment, Kinder Morgan will go ahead with its original plan to twin the pipeline this summer while the sale is finalized, which likely won’t happen until August.

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Once the sale is complete, Canada will continue the construction on its own, with a view to eventually selling the whole thing down the road, once market conditions would allow it to get the best price.

The expansion’s price tag has been pegged at $7.4 billion.

Morneau presented the options during a cabinet meeting early Tuesday before ministers signed off on the chosen option, which comes just days before the company’s May 31 deadline and is still subject to the approval of Kinder Morgan shareholders.

“We believe this is the best way to protect thousands of well-paying jobs and the safest and most effective way to get our resources to world markets,” Morneau said.

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“Make no mistake — this is an investment in Canada’s future.”

Export Development Canada will finance the purchase, which includes the pipeline, pumping stations and rights of way along the route between Edmonton and Vancouver, as well as the marine terminal in Burnaby, B.C., where oil is loaded onto tankers for export.

‘These are exceptional circumstances’

Tim McMillan, head of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), said the situation should never have come to this.

“These are exceptional circumstances and not the norm,” he told a Tuesday news conference.

“Actions by the British Columbia government have created mounting political uncertainty and has repercussions on industries across the country.”

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McMillan stressed the need to prevent project overruns due to continued political opposition and praised Ottawa’s plan to find a buyer for the pipeline.

Meanwhile, Notley said it’s unlikely her government will enact landmark legislation passed earlier this month to turn off the taps to B.C.